FEE REMISSION: USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDANCE
The recent decision in Gibbs -v- King’s College NHS Foundation Trust (11/11/2021) highlights the need to keep issues of fee remission at the forefront of consideration, particularly when issuing proceedings. There is no guarantee at all that a party will recover court fees when, it transpires, they could have been eligible for fee remission. Here is an updated list of links to assist with obtaining fee remission.
OFFICIAL GUIDANCE
- A list of the relevant forms is available here
- The form is available here
- The online form is available here
- Get help paying court and tribunal fees
- How to apply for help with fees
GUIDANCE FOR PRACTITIONERS
- Divorce Online has a calculator Find out if you are exempt from paying court fees now
- Andrew Hogan considers the issue in his Blog Costs Barrister, noting “The amount of detail required to complete a fee remission application, and the supporting documents is frankly eyewatering, and must be completed on a “per fee” basis, not a per case basis, so potentially requiring multiple applications during the same piece of litigation.”
- MoneyClaimsUK sets out the tests in Court and Tribunal Fees – do I have to pay them?
- Kerry Underwood in Court and Tribunal Fees and Help with fees (Remission)
- Advicenow Getting help to pay a court fee in a civil or family case
- Carter Burnett Fee Remission: Is it reasonable for the public purse to fund the judiciary?
There is a (now somewhat dated) post on this blog MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF THE COURT FEE INCREASE 2: FEE REMISSION – EVERY LITIGATOR HAS TO KNOW THIS NOW
The logic of Gibbs seems to be that the only way to be sure that you will recover the fee you have paid is to make an application for remission in every case – if not then your opponent will ask why not.
The result will be even more bureaucratic stress and paperwork for understaffed courts.
Unintended real life consequences.